Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, departed the Presidential Villa in the same vehicle on Sunday night after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu, raising strong indications of a possible reconciliation between the two political rivals.
Presidency officials familiar with the meeting confirmed the development, noting that although both leaders arrived separately at the Villa, they left together following the President’s intervention.
According to the sources, the joint departure was widely interpreted as a symbolic gesture signalling a potential end to the prolonged political feud that has destabilised governance in Rivers State for nearly two years.
“Two of them did not come together. Fubara came first, then Wike came later. But at the end of the day, both of them left the Villa together in the same vehicle. Doesn’t that mean they both settled?” one source said.
Another official also confirmed the meeting, stating, “Yes, he met them yesterday night. It is true. The two of them settled. He talked to two of them, but I can’t tell you what he said.”
Earlier on Monday, The Nation reported that Governor Fubara accompanied Wike to his Guzape residence in Abuja after leaving the Presidential Villa.
The meeting is seen as a potential turning point in the Rivers political crisis, which has significantly disrupted governance in the oil-rich state since mid-2023.
The rift between Wike and his political protégé, Fubara, began shortly after the governor assumed office in May 2023. Tensions escalated in October when lawmakers loyal to Wike in the Rivers State House of Assembly initiated impeachment proceedings against Fubara.
In response, the governor ordered the demolition of the Assembly complex following a mysterious fire and relocated legislative sittings to temporary facilities. The ensuing power struggle plunged the state into a deep governance crisis.
In December 2023, President Tinubu intervened and brokered a fragile peace deal, under which Fubara conceded several key political appointments to Wike’s loyalists. However, the truce soon collapsed, with hostilities resurfacing across the state’s political landscape.
The crisis reached its peak on March 18, 2025, when President Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State, citing rising insecurity and administrative paralysis. The declaration suspended the governor’s executive powers for an initial six-month period and led to the appointment of a sole administrator, former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (retd.).
Following renewed presidential intervention, tensions eased and emergency rule was lifted in September 2025. However, disagreements persisted, with the Martin Amaewhule-led House of Assembly later issuing another impeachment notice against Governor Fubara.
Sunday night’s meeting at the Presidential Villa is therefore being closely watched by political observers as a possible breakthrough in resolving the protracted crisis that has divided Rivers State’s political leadership.
